That strategy paid off for the Gamblers on Saturday during Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinals.

A week after resting their top skaters and dropping its regular-season finale to the Youngstown Phantoms in a shootout, the Gamblers returned in full force and rode a four-goal first period to a 7-1 thrashing of the Phantoms to gain the upper hand in a best-of-five series in front of 3,337 at the Resch Center. ...